The Woodhouse Partnership Limited (“TWPL”) has a worldwide reputation as a leading authority on industrial and infrastructure asset management. It serves a diverse, global blue-chip customer base.
Watersheds advised MD and owner, John Woodhouse, for several years, to help him reach the optimal point of sale based upon the company’s growth journey. It was important to John that the buyer shared TWPL’s values and had a business model that would not stifle the company’s creativity.
Tim Harrington, partner at Watersheds, said: “It was clear to us that the business would be very attractive to international organisations with the ability to scale up TWPL, take it to another level, and realise its full potential.
“We identified RSK as a buyer that met John’s criteria perfectly, and was in a position to buy when TWPL had reached a pivotal stage in its growth journey. This sale gives TWPL access to essential additional resources at RSK to enable the company to capitalise on the rapid worldwide increase in demand for its services."
“TWPL comprises two UK companies and three overseas entities in North America and South America, so it has been a complex transaction from the outset."
“John’s schedule involves a lot of worldwide travel. While the deal was progressing, TWPL was undergoing rapid growth, so the fact that we were able to do the heavy lifting and drive the deal to completion meant John could remain focused on running the business, without the sale process losing momentum.”
John Woodhouse said: “Watersheds have worked alongside me for several years and have advised me and my colleagues very well through the intricacies of this deal so that we have been able to continue working as normal, minimising distractions."
“For a company like ours, whose work tends to come from reputation and word-of-mouth recommendations between major multinational clients, it’s essential that we can concentrate on our clients’ needs. So having Watersheds managing this whole process for us was incredibly helpful."
“With the current TWPL workload, it was imperative that the sale process was handled by a firm like Watersheds who had the expertise, experience and pragmatism to produce a great result for all concerned.”